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# Federal Arson Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-arson-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:36:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:36:36.000Z
- Description: In the Western District of Missouri, 23 people were sentenced for arson in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Of them, 18 (78%) received a prison term and 5 (22%) received probation only. A mandatory minimum applied to 14 of the 23 (61%).
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-missouri/) › Arson: Western District of Missouri

**In brief:** In the Western District of Missouri, 23 people were sentenced for arson in fiscal years 2016 to 2024\. Of them, 18 (78%) received a prison term and 5 (22%) received probation only. A mandatory minimum applied to 14 of the 23 (61%).

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Mandatory Minimums Applied to Most Arson Cases

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 14 of the 23 people (61%). The Commission's data does not show which statute set the minimum.

Even so, 5 people (22%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The other 18 (78%) received a prison term. For all 94 districts, 96% of people sentenced for arson were sent to prison, so prison was less common here.

## Prison Terms

The median prison term was 63 months (5.2 years). A quarter received 88.5 months or more, and a quarter received 46.5 months or less. The median across all 94 districts was 60 months, so the district figure is higher.

For all offenses in this district, the median was 72 months. The arson median is lower than that district-wide figure.

## The Guidelines Involved

"Arson" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, set by the primary guideline. Of the 23 people, 22 were sentenced mainly under §2K1.4 (Arson). The other person was sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).

Arson cases were less than 1% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the district across all offense types.

## Guilty Pleas

All 23 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty in arson cases. For all offenses in this district, 98% did.

Among guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Guideline Range

Within the range were 48% (11) of the 23 sentences. Below the range at the government's request were 26% (6), and below the range without a government request were 22% (5). Above the range was 4% (1).

For all 94 districts, 45% of arson sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share here is higher than both.

## Restitution and Supervised Release

Restitution was ordered for 18 people (78%), and a fine for 1 (4%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 18 (78%), with a median term of 36 months.

In criminal history, 52% were in the lowest category (category I) and 22% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Year

There were 6 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 17 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The data in this report ends with fiscal year 2024\. Fiscal years begin on October 1.

In the table, yearly counts run from 1 to 8 people, with the 8 in 2022\. Medians range from 31 months in 2016 to 144 months in 2024, the latter for 1 person. These groups are too small to show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 31 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 1                | 63 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 2                | 46.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 1                | 92 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 2                | 61.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 1                | 78 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 8                | 63 months     | 8 of 8         |
| 2023        | 5                | 77 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2024        | 1                | 144 months    | 1 of 1         |

## Limits of the Records

Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Arson" (23). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

**Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

**Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-missouri/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-western-district-of-missouri/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.